(ATR) The head of the Olympic Council of Asia claims that Indonesia is the top contender to host the 18th Asian Games.
On Wednesday, OCA president Sheikh Ahmad told Reuters that there is an agreement in place to give the 2018 Asian Games to Jakarta.
"Indonesia has to have the priority to host," Ahmad told reporters. "They were the competitor to Vietnam at the last vote."
"We have solved the issues with other cities. We have a good agreement. Let’s leave it to Indonesia."
The 2018 Asian Games were originally awarded to Hanoi in 2012, but Vietnam stepped down as the host country earlier this year due to financial hardships.
According to Ahmad, Indonesia immediately emerged as the best candidate to host the games.
"In less than one month, Indonesia was there ready to host it," he said.
If selected, this will be Indonesia’s second time hosting the Asiad. Jakarta hosted the 4th Asian Games in 1962. Manila had also expressed interest in hosting the Asian Games in 2019, but missed the application deadline.
The decision will be formally approved at an OCA session in South Korea on Saturday.
Written by Andrew Murrell
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